Engineer of Derailed Metro North Train MAY Have Been Asleep Just Prior to the Deadly Train Crash

Home > Blog > 2013 > December > Engineer of Derailed Metro North Train MAY Have Been Asleep Just Prior to the Deadly Train Crash

Dec 2, 2013

Engineer of Derailed Metro North Train MAY Have Been Asleep Just Prior to the Deadly Train Crash

Posted By
Hastings, Cohan, & Walsh, LLP

Investigators looking into the deadly train crash which occurred this weekend on the Metro North train headed from Poughkeepsie, NY to Grand Central Terminal believe the engineer at the controls of the derailed train dozed off for a few fateful moments and woke up too late to stop the speeding train from leaving the tracks. It has been reported that engineer William Rockefeller all but admitted he was falling asleep as the train came speeding into the curved section of track north of the Spuyten Duyvil station in statements made shortly after four people were killed and ore than 60 others were injured, some seriously, in the train crash.

Apparently the engineer was jolted from his sleep as the train, traveling at 82 MPH in an area that had a speed limit of 70mph, was heading into a dangerous curve that had a speed limit of 30 MPH.

As the train was about to enter the curved section of the track, it was reported that, Rockefeller was jolted from his sleep and hit the brakes, but not in time. As a result of the speed, several cars derailed and were tossed onto their sides resulting in the deaths of four people and injuring approximately 64 others. It was reported that these admissions were made within minutes after the crash when paramedics and investigators came upon the scene to provide medical assistance and to determine what had happened.

A member of the National Transportation Safety Board at a press conference Monday the brakes were engaged, but "very late in the game" - only seconds before the crash. Further, the investigator would not say whether the speed was result of human error or faulty equipment.

The NTSB has been advocating to railroads, for extended period of time, to install equipment that can reduce the frequency of train crashes caused by excessive speed or mechanical failure by automatically slowing trains, that are traveling at excessive speeds, as they that pass through certain areas of the tracks. Evidently, Metro North has yet to make these safety improvements in the area of Sunday's trained her ailment.